Today, online media is a world where curated content is king. Brands typically employ talented editors that become world-class experts in their fields. Their editorial voice and coverage directs the attention of millions of readers. In this world, a selection of the cover story may determine the topic of interest for millions of readers. However, this approach may lack personalization for individual readers. For example, news about a particular celebrity may be provided to a reader as a mainstream interest, even though that reader may not want to read articles about that celebrity. Sometimes, these uninterested readers quickly abandon the media property because they do not quickly see an article that is interesting to them. As a result, the loyalty of the uninterested reader to the media property and/or publisher may be diminished, leading the uninterested reader to a different media property in the future.
At the same time, not only do readers like to read articles about topics that they are interested in, but they may also read articles about other topics that their friends and/or social network may be interested in. If a reader reads an article about a topic that may be of interest to the reader's social network, then the reader may be able to talk to his/her friends about that article. As a result, the reader may appear to his/her social network as smarter, more socially valuable person. It is with respect to these considerations and others that the present invention has been made.